Three Weeks Ago, Black Trans Person Kenji Spurgeon, 23, Was Shot to Death in Seattle

Kenji Spurgeon murdered in Seattle

Please note that while we can confirm Kenji identified as trans, there are conflicting reports on whether she identified as a trans person or a trans woman or some other identity. We have opted to use the most neutral language possible to highlight Kenji’s story. We will make updates as they are available. Kenji Spurgeon, […]

Read #TheResearchers Q&A With Noah ‘The Stigma Fighter’

The Researchers Investigating Missing, Murdered, Unclaimed, and Unidentified Trans and Queer Neighbors Around the World Recently, we launched a mini-series exploring the work of tracking and reporting anti-trans violence. You can read the initial post The Researchers: A Closer Look at the Search for Missing and Murdered Trans and Queer People I created a Q&A […]

The Researchers: A Closer Look at the Search for Missing and Murdered Trans and Queer People

Since spring 2013, I have been writing memorials for trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming (TGNC) neighbors whose lives have been lost to violence. The relentless persistence of this violence is akin to a terror campaign. While I’ve frequently shared the story of how I started doing this work, I’ve less often talked about “the work” […]

Remembering the 2022 Murder of 17 year old Black Trans Teen Morgan Moore By His Parents

Morgan Moore

The Crime My recent post about the violent deaths of 14 trans youth brought to my attention a young Black trans man, Morgan Moore. At 17 years of age, Morgan was killed by his parents through neglect, including hunger, horrific living conditions, and a lack of medical care. That’s filicide. A parent, or parents, killing […]

Six Weeks After Moving to Minneapolis, Trans Woman Liara Kaylee Tsai Was Killed by Former Partner

The Crime A beloved was recently murdered on June 22 by a former romantic partner in Minnesota. Liara Kaylee Tsai, 35, was killed in her home, bundled into a mattress and bedding, then placed in her vehicle. From The Advocate. Olmsted County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of the single-vehicle accident and found [Margot] […]

Black Trans Woman Shannon Boswell Mortally Shot, Run Over in Atlanta. She was 30.

The Crime A Black trans woman was shot and killed last week in an Atlanta suburb. Shannon Boswell, 30, was then run over by a car. Officials assumed Shannon was the victim of a hit and run. Friends and family reported the shooting to law enforcement, but they only responded when the medical examiner’s report […]

Pauly Likens Was a 14 Year Old Trans Girl When She Was Brutally Murdered in Sharon, PA

Pauly Likens

Pauly Likens was a 14 year old trans girl, born and raised in Sharon, Pennsylvania. She went missing on June 22, 2024. Pauly was killed on June 23, 2024. Her parents reported her missing on June 25, 2024. Her death by murder was announced on July3, 2024. The Crime From The Sharon Herald Likens was […]

14 Year Old Trans Girl Brutally Murdered in Western Pennsylvania

I am holding space tonight for this young community member and neighbor whose life was taken in a brutal manner. Pauly Likens was from Sharon, PA. She liked to wear fake nails and/or polish. She likely died on June 22 or 23. Sharon is about 75 miles from my home in Pittsburgh. I have been […]

Father’s Day regrets about my Dad’s obituary

My father died in February of this year. I was unable to provide him a traditional rite of passage – an obituary in our local daily paper. I clung to that void with a firm grip, turning it over in my mind to determine why it troubled me. Sadness that he was denied that final […]

My Apology to Both Girls Named Jazlynn Johnson in Nevada

Trans deaths

Earlier this week, I blogged about the death of an 18-year-old trans girl in Carson City, Nevada. And I got things wrong. The person I described in the original post attached to this URL is a different 18 year old girl named Jazlynn Johnson. Everything I shared about her was tied to a young woman […]